The Gateway Arch I have been to St. Louis, Missouri many times. In fact, while I was a child, my parents would drive to East St. Louis, Illinois where their parents grew up. It was on this trip that we rode on Route 66 and saw the “Arch” as the indication that we were close […]

It was a round four in the Thursday’s club, I had Black and played Queen’s Indian Accelerated again. My opponent was a boy, never played him before. The first interest moment came when he suddenly played 19. Ne6. I looked at it and realized that accepting it would be bad after 19… fxe6 20. Qe7 […]

My advanced students this week saw several positions from the tie-break games of the World Chess Championship. White to move The first position is from the final game. I wanted my students to first understand Black's checkmate threats.The...Show More Summary

TIEBREAKSCarlsen beats Karjakin 9-7 to defends crown! Carlsen hoists champion’s trophy.Photo by chess24 After beating Karjakin in Game #10, Magnus Carlsen said that he was able to “break” Sergey Karjakin. It was a pivotal moment of the match as the champion decided that with new life, he would head for the tiebreaks. “The idea was […]

Game 12: WTF? With tension in the air at the Fulton Market Building, both Carlsen and Karjakin were preparing for a pivotal game in the match. It was, in effect, a “sudden death” match. Many anticipated an epic battle, but were shocked at the outcome. The game lasted less than an hour. Jonathan Tisdall had […]

While the chess world waits for the epic twelfth game of the Carlson-Karjakin world championship match, there was another shocking piece of chess news halfway around the world that I’m still trying to digest. If you remember, the last serious post I wrote before going on hiatus was on the “Most Amazing Game of 2016,” […]

Game 11: Another fighting draw! Carlsen-Karjakin will go the distance. Another Ruy Lopez…. the theoretical theme of the match! This match has had its share of twists and turns and the penultimate round was no different. A Ruy Lopez repeated from Game #2, the game took on a type of classical feel with all the […]

It is not about the money, it’s about one move in a second round game in the Thursday’s club. My opponent was a boy, I drew him with White 7 months ago in the same opening, Sicilian, Moscow variation. I had some pressure after the opening and after exchanges on e5 thought I can get […]

The World Chess Championship is tied 5-5 after ten games. Today is a rest day. Before the match, many were predicting a victory for the reigning champion, Magnus Carlsen. Some even thought that Carlsen would retain his title in fewer than twelve games, regarding Sergey Karjakin as clearly the inferior player. Show More Summary

Game 10: We have a match!!Carlsen gets the equalizer after Karjakin breaks! Anticipation was high before the 10th game of the World Chess Championship. There were many questions being asked before today’s game. What would be the strategy for Magnus Carlsen? What opening would he play? Would he be under pressure to win with white? […]

Game 9: Carlsen at the brink… holds for another day VG's sport front page today #vgsjakk pic.twitter.com/thoeOW6lhh — Jon Ludvig Hammer (@gmjlh) November 23, 2016 “The King’s Choice: A Chess Drama” In Norway, five million people have been staying up late at night following the championship match featuring their native son Magnus Carlsen and Russian […]

Game 8: Karjakin shocks Carlsen… goes up +1! The Trump analogies will start flying again if Sergey Karjakin wins the ongoing championship match. Karjakin stormed to victory today in a tense, yet error-filled game. Magnus Carlsen pressed with white in an unbalanced position, had an edge, misjudged the position and later blundered. Karjakin got confident […]

Game 7: Draw… Fischer’s ghost stirring Today was another short game, but the players granted a longer press conference. Some of the questions asked have been rather off-putting, but today packed room enjoyed a bit of levity and good cheer from the players. Perhaps this is an effort to stay loose for what will be […]

It was a first round of a new tournament in Monday’s club. My opponent was an old guy, he told me he didn’t play in 25 years. Yes, he looked rusty sometimes, nevertheless played pretty well. So, I had Black and played Queen’s Indian Accelerated. His 31. Qg2 was not the best move and then 32. […]

Last night, I finished with a perfect 3-0 to win my section of the Turkey Quads. I had not played in this event since 2011, and then it started a nice run of wins (see "Eleven Consecutive Wins!"). That run propelled me to my lifetime peak USCF rating of 1982, so this year's success in the Turkey Quads could be a good omen. Show More Summary

Game 6: Calm draw before pending storm While outsiders may look at the score of the ongoing championship match, they would say that it seems to lack action because no one is scoring win. If one could, for one moment, think of this match like a 12-round boxing bout where each boxer is judged on […]

Game 5: Another draw, but momentum to Karjakin! Is Carlsen becoming unraveled? Photo by Peter Doggers (chess.com) Magnus Carlsen started a social media trend #Trumpowsky with his first round 1.d4 Bg5 2.Bg5. When asked if the opening had to do with the election victory of Donald Trump, he said, “A little bit.” Well… the next […]

Game 4: Karjakin: Minister of Defense! Superlatives were bandied about to describe Sergey Karjakin’s defensive prowess after holding Magnus Carlsen in a 94-move bout. Peter Doggers of chess.com quipped that Vladimir Putin should hire him as “Minister of Defense” after which Karjakin said (with a wry smile) he’d be honored. Certainly Karjakin was glad to […]

Judit Polgar's commentary during the World Chess Championship, currently taking place in New York City, has been terrific! During game three, she assured her viewers that the game was likely to end in a draw, then later was quite certain that Magnus Carlsen would win, and then again that Sergey Karjakin could hold the draw. Show More Summary

Chess games do not always end with a winner. In fact, as players become stronger, draws become more likely. In the World Championship match that is taking place right now in New York City, the first three games ended in a draw. Game four begins about the time that this post was published. Show More Summary